Prerequisites
Before installing SkillRise, ensure you have the following installed on your system:
Node.js 20+
Required for running both client and server
npm or yarn
Package manager for JavaScript dependencies
MongoDB
Local instance or MongoDB Atlas cluster
Git
For cloning the repository
Recommended Setup: Node.js 20.x LTS, npm 10.x, MongoDB 8.x or MongoDB Atlas free tier
Verification
Verify your Node.js and npm versions:
node --version
# Expected: v20.x.x or higher
npm --version
# Expected: 10.x.x or higher
Clone the Repository
Clone from GitHub
Clone the SkillRise repository to your local machine:git clone https://github.com/pv-pushkarverma/skillrise.git
cd skillrise
Cloning into 'skillrise'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 1247, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (1247/1247), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (892/892), done.
remote: Total 1247 (delta 678), reused 1104 (delta 589)
Receiving objects: 100% (1247/1247), 2.34 MiB | 5.21 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (678/678), done.
Verify project structure
Check that the repository was cloned successfully:You should see:client/
server/
docker-compose.yml
README.md
.github/
Install Dependencies
The client and server have separate package.json files. You must install dependencies for both.
Backend (Server)
Navigate to server directory
Install npm packages
This installs all dependencies including:
- express (v5.1.0) - Web framework
- mongoose (v8.13.2) - MongoDB ODM
- @clerk/express (v1.4.8) - Authentication
- cloudinary (v2.6.0) - Media uploads
- groq-sdk (v0.34.0) - AI chat
- razorpay (v2.9.6) - Payments
added 247 packages, and audited 248 packages in 12s
38 packages are looking for funding
run `npm fund` for details
found 0 vulnerabilities
Verify installation
Check that node_modules was created:ls -d node_modules
# Output: node_modules
Frontend (Client)
Navigate to client directory
Install npm packages
This installs all dependencies including:
- react (v19.0.0) - UI library
- react-router-dom (v7.5.1) - Routing
- @clerk/clerk-react (v5.28.2) - Auth UI
- axios (v1.8.4) - HTTP client
- tailwindcss (v3.4.17) - Styling
- vite (v6.3.1) - Build tool
added 312 packages, and audited 313 packages in 15s
102 packages are looking for funding
run `npm fund` for details
found 0 vulnerabilities
MongoDB Setup
Choose one of the following MongoDB setup options:
Use MongoDB Atlas (Free Cloud Database)
Configure network access
- Go to Network Access → Add IP Address
- Click Allow Access from Anywhere (0.0.0.0/0)
- Confirm
For production, restrict to specific IPs only
Create database user
- Go to Database Access → Add New Database User
- Choose Password authentication
- Username:
skillrise
- Generate a secure password
- Grant Read and write to any database permission
Get connection string
- Click Connect on your cluster
- Choose Connect your application
- Copy the connection string:
mongodb+srv://skillrise:<password>@cluster0.xxxxx.mongodb.net
- Replace
<password> with your database user password
Install MongoDB Locally
macOS
Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)
Windows
# Install via Homebrew
brew tap mongodb/brew
brew install mongodb-community@8.0
# Start MongoDB
brew services start mongodb-community@8.0
# Verify it's running
mongosh
# Import MongoDB GPG key
curl -fsSL https://www.mongodb.org/static/pgp/server-8.0.asc | \
sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg
# Add MongoDB repository
echo "deb [ arch=amd64,arm64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mongodb-server-8.0.gpg ] https://repo.mongodb.org/apt/ubuntu jammy/mongodb-org/8.0 multiverse" | \
sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mongodb-org-8.0.list
# Install MongoDB
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y mongodb-org
# Start MongoDB
sudo systemctl start mongod
sudo systemctl enable mongod
# Verify
mongosh
- Download MongoDB Community Server from mongodb.com/try/download/community
- Run the installer (
.msi file)
- Choose Complete installation
- Install MongoDB as a Windows Service
- Open Command Prompt and verify:
Local MongoDB will be available at mongodb://localhost:27017
Third-Party Service Setup
SkillRise requires API keys from the following services:
Verify Installation
Before proceeding to configuration, verify that all components are installed:
# Check Node.js
node --version
# Check npm packages (from server directory)
cd server && npm list --depth=0
# Check npm packages (from client directory)
cd ../client && npm list --depth=0
# Check MongoDB connection (if local)
mongosh --eval "db.version()"
Troubleshooting
npm install fails with permission errors
Solution: Avoid using sudo with npm. Instead, configure npm to use a different directory:mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
Error: The engine "node" is incompatible with this moduleSolution: Use nvm to install Node.js 20:nvm install 20
nvm use 20
node --version
MongoDB connection refused
For local MongoDB:# Check if MongoDB is running
sudo systemctl status mongod # Linux
brew services list # macOS
# Start MongoDB if stopped
sudo systemctl start mongod # Linux
brew services start mongodb-community@8.0 # macOS
Port 3000 or 5173 already in use
Error: EADDRINUSE: address already in use :::3000Solution: Find and kill the process using the port:# Find process on port 3000
lsof -ti:3000 | xargs kill -9
# Or use a different port
PORT=4000 npm run server
Next Steps
